Department of Social Sciences, University of Monterrey , Monterrey , Mexico.
Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS) , Monterrey , Mexico ; Department of Basic Sciences, University of Monterrey , Monterrey , Mexico.
Front Public Health. 2015 Aug 6;3:191. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2015.00191. eCollection 2015.
This study identified risk factors for health and access to healthcare services of migrants during their journey across Mexico to the United States. Data were collected in shelters located in Monterrey, the largest city of northeastern Mexico, through a basic clinical examination and a survey completed by 75 migrants; 92% of them were undocumented Central Americans. During their transit, they are at a high risk of contracting, developing, and transmitting diseases. The need of working to survive affects health-seeking behavior and a constant fear of being traced keeps migrants away from public health services, which delays diagnosis and treatment of diseases. Negligent lifestyles, such as smoking, drinking (31.8% of men and 11.1% of women), and drug abuse (13% of men and 11% of women), were found. Regarding tuberculosis (TB), undocumented migrants are usually not screened, even though they come from countries with a high TB burden. Besides, they might be overexposed to TB because of their living conditions in overcrowded places with deficient hygiene, protection, and malnutrition (54.7% of the sample). Possible comorbidities like acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS; 4%) and diabetes (2.7%, but probably under-diagnosed) were referred. Migrants have little TB knowledge, which is independent of their level of education or a previous experience of deportation. About one-third of the migrants were totally unfamiliar with TB-related symptoms, while 36% had correct knowledge of basic TB symptoms. We conclude that a shortage of information on the highly vulnerable migratory population combined with a lack of social support and health education among migrants may play a significant role in the spread of communicable diseases. We recommend that health authorities address this urgent, binational, public health concern in order to prevent outbreaks of emerging infections.
本研究旨在确定移民在穿越墨西哥前往美国的过程中健康和获得医疗服务的风险因素。数据是在位于墨西哥东北部最大城市蒙特雷的收容所收集的,通过基本临床检查和对 75 名移民进行的调查收集数据;其中 92%是无证件的中美洲人。在过境期间,他们面临着感染、发展和传播疾病的高风险。为了生存而工作的需要影响了他们寻求医疗服务的行为,而对被追踪的持续恐惧使移民远离公共卫生服务,从而延误了疾病的诊断和治疗。研究发现,移民存在一些不良生活方式,如吸烟、饮酒(男性占 31.8%,女性占 11.1%)和吸毒(男性占 13%,女性占 11%)。此外,由于他们生活在拥挤、卫生条件差、缺乏保护和营养不良的地方,他们可能会过度接触结核病(TB)。无证件移民通常不会接受结核病筛查,即使他们来自结核病负担重的国家。此外,他们可能会因生活条件而过度暴露于结核病,因为他们生活在拥挤、卫生条件差、缺乏保护和营养不良的地方(样本中的 54.7%)。可能的合并症,如获得性免疫缺陷综合征(AIDS;4%)和糖尿病(2.7%,但可能诊断不足)也被提及。移民对结核病的了解很少,这与他们的教育水平或以前被驱逐出境的经历无关。大约三分之一的移民对与结核病相关的症状完全不熟悉,而 36%的移民对基本结核病症状有正确的认识。我们得出结论,移民人口高度脆弱,但缺乏有关信息,加上移民缺乏社会支持和健康教育,可能在传染病传播中发挥重要作用。我们建议卫生当局解决这一紧迫的、跨国的公共卫生问题,以防止新出现感染的爆发。